On March 5, 2009, Vince Li was found not criminally responsible for the murder and decapitation of 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus near Portage la Prairie, Man. The court heard that Mr. Li believed the voice of God was telling him to kill Mr. McLean, and that by mutilating his body and eating part of the flesh, he would prevent him from coming back to life. Mr. Li was sent to the Selkirk Mental Health Centre just north of Winnipeg, where he has received treatment for the past six years.

The Manitoba Criminal Code Review Board has just ruled that Mr. Li should be allowed to make unsupervised outings in Winnipeg. The board, which has conducted annual hearings into the case since 2010, had previously given Mr. Li incrementally greater freedoms based on his progress, first allowing him to spend the day outside the locked unit of the hospital, then to take escorted, 30-minute trips into the town of Selkirk. In 2013, he was granted full-day, supervised trips off hospital grounds and last year he was allowed to make unsupervised outings in Selkirk.

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The review board now says it will consider whether Mr. Li is well enough to leave the hospital altogether and move into a group home. Mr. Li’s medical team has told the board that he is at extremely low risk of reoffending, knows the importance of taking his medication regularly and has not had a hallucination in over a year. The group home to which Mr. Li would be transferred is staffed around the clock and he would be under constant supervision to ensure he is taking his medication.

Such a decision would be bound to be controversial. In recent weeks, many people have come out in opposition to his release — including Mr. McLean’s mother, Carol de Delley, who posted a message about the hearing on Facebook: “Please start thinking about yourselves and your families and communities because he’s going to be out, he could become your neighbour.”

Such fears are wholly understandable. There will always be concern for community safety whenever a violent offender, however well rehabilitated, is released. Yet there is no just alternative.

To be found not criminally responsible, a person must be suffering from a mental disorder rendering him “incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.” It is not in dispute that at the time Mr. Li killed Mr. McLean, his actions were the result of schizophrenia, not a conscious disregard for the difference between right and wrong. Should the board eventually agree with Mr. Li’s doctors that he no longer presents a threat to others, it would be unjust to keep him confined to a medical facility any further.

There is no easy or ideal way to reintegrate not criminally responsible offenders into society. But justice requires us to make the attempt: To square the concerns of the community with the right of an individual whose mind was once hijacked by a disorder to live something approaching a normal life.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/03/02/national-post-view-if-vince-li-no-longer-presents-a-threat-to-others-it-would-be-unjust-to-keep-him-confined/feed/0stdBus_Beheading_LawsuitsFour children killed in Manitoba fire: ‘The home is destroyed and the family is obviously devastated’http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/25/children-among-dead-in-fire-at-rural-manitoba-farmhouse-town-reeve-says/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/02/25/children-among-dead-in-fire-at-rural-manitoba-farmhouse-town-reeve-says/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 16:19:49 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=706671

A tight-knit rural community south of Winnipeg is grieving the loss of four children who died in a rural house fire in a small community located about an hour’s drive southeast of Winnipeg.

The farm house was home to a family of two adults and seven children. Four of those children have died, three are staying with neighbours, and two parents have been taken to hospital, according to Bernard Schellenberg, the local fire chief.

His team responded to the call in Kane, Man.

The two-storey farmhouse in the municipality of Morris was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters reached the scene. Crews couldn’t enter the home as it was burning so hot.

“The home is destroyed and the family is obviously devastated,” said according to Morris Reeve Ralph Groening.

“We’re waiting for someone to confirm the number of fatalities. We’re very careful. It is more than one, we just want to be cautious.”

Mr. Groening said that with a family of this size, he expected some of the victims would include children.

The home is destroyed and the family is obviously devastated

Office of Fire Commissioner confirming loss of 4 lives in tragic house fire in RM of Morris near village of Kane. #rmofmorris

“The history of it is it’s a 70 to 80-year-old farm house. Regionally, it is now identified here as a local rural residential property,” he said. “The residents worked in the local community, so it’s not a farm.”

The property was located a short distance from the village of Kane, which comprises about 10 homes.

The nearest neighbour was about a kilometre away, Mr. Groening said.

The children attended school in Lowe Farm, Man. The Reeve said teams had been sent out to prepare potential schoolmates.

The same week National Chief Perry Bellegarde was elected to lead the Assembly of First Nations, 12 Aboriginal high school girls gathered for a photojournalism workshop across town that would draw out their powerful stories. They talked about cousins who’ve gone missing, friends who’ve been murdered, the way fear permeates their daily life walking the streets of Winnipeg. In the weeks before federal, provincial and indigenous leaders meet with family members in Ottawa at the long-anticipated National Roundtable to tackle the issue of murdered and missing indigenous women and girls, their stories have emerged. And National Chief Bellegarde is listening. He spoke with the National Post’s Sarah Boesveld.

Q: As you pursue your call for a national inquiry, what would you say to these high school girls who are sharing their stories about their lives and worry they could be “next?”

A: One of the things I’d say is let them know: “Hey, we care and we’re trying to do as much as we can about the situation.” But more importantly, we want to let them know that they’re important and their lives matter. They’re valuable as human beings. That’s the most important message to get to them. We’re going to continue to push for an inquiry into [murdered and] missing indigenous women and girls. It’s not only a First Nations issue, it’s Canada’s issue. And let them know that we care and we’re not going to give up on our efforts to keep pushing for that.

The numbers are just too staggering and too high to dismiss anything like that

Q: These girls believe there is a “targeting” going on. Do you believe that’s true? If so, by whom — and is it in communities or from the outside?

A: Just look at the statistics: At first we thought there were 600 [murdered and missing indigenous women]. Now we know there are 1,200 and there are probably even more. There’s something really systemic. You can call it targeting, but the numbers aren’t going to lie. There’s something that is taking place which we’ve got to address. We always make the point that colonization and cultural genocide from the residential schools has affected all of us and we’re still dealing with inter-generational effects. Whether or not there’s some truth in the matter, that there is some targeting going on, because society doesn’t view First Nations women as having any value, that their lives are less meaningful than anyone else’s? The numbers are just too staggering and too high to dismiss anything like that.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan National chief Perry Bellegarde speaks after being elected at the Assembly of First Nations election in Winnipeg on Wednesday, December 10, 2014.

Q: You’ve also spoken about men in these communities and how this history and these systemic issues have impacted them too.

A: It’s not only about First Nations men, but First Nations men do have a big role to play in violence against indigenous women and girls. We want our men to be good fathers and good uncles. And part of the plan is developing wellness plans and support centres for the whole family. [We want to ] get these men back to the pride of who they are as indigenous men, with a role to protect the family and provide for the family. We want them to get back to what we call the Seven Sacred Teachings or Values of honesty, truth and respect and love, courage, wisdom, humility — seven teachings we’ve got to get back to in our communities. Sometimes it’s men in general — look at Robert Pickton in Vancouver, look at the Highway of Tears. There were two non-indigenous men that were charged. I think it’s society as a whole that needs to be dealt with.

Q: It sounds like all of this is incredibly complex.

A: It is. And within our people we’re still seeing the inter-generational effects. I gave that example from the residential schools — your sense of self-worth is gone, your sense of identity is gone, everything good about being a First Nations person is beaten out of you. And then you tack on the physical abuse, the mental abuse, the sexual abuse, you’re not healthy coming out of that system. You’re not going to know how to love yourself, let alone love your family or your community or your nation. It takes one or two generations to get really healthy again.

Q: So on the violence in the communities front, this is just as big an issue on reserves as it is in cities?

A: Yes. That’s why I say it’s a larger issue than the First Nations community. It’s right across society, which is why that national inquiry will do a lot to shed some light on that situation and get the people talking about it and addressing the root causes, which is poverty, lack of housing, lack of safe shelters, lack of daycare, lack of wellness centres. The whole wellness strategy has to be at the forefront.

Q: Is there something we don’t understand about the issue at a broader societal level that you think needs to be articulated?

A: The rest of Canada needs to understand that we as indigenous peoples have really suffered a lot in the last 500 years of contact, and it’s going to take us awhile. it’s going to take some time to get well and get back to our identity as indigenous peoples and get healthy again as nations.

The rest of Canada needs to understand that we as indigenous peoples have really suffered a lot in the last 500 years of contact

Q: You recently met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper — did you once again invite him to the roundtable and make another pitch for an inquiry?

A: I did reiterate to the prime minister the importance of the need to have federal government involvement in this issue and again it didn’t seem to resonate very well with him. They’re more interested in the action side. I agree, fine, let’s develop an action plan. If it is going to cost $50-60 million for a federal inquiry, are they spending $50-60 million on housing and safe shelters and daycare and wellness centres? No, they’re spending $5 million. We need the federal government to step up and see the seriousness of this issue.

The Assembly of First Nations is proposing a national public inquiry to address the grave situation facing Aboriginal women in Canada. While many believe that a national inquiry is the answer, that may not in fact be the case.

The issue is a serious one. Indeed, violence against Aboriginal women, and in particular the long list of those murdered and missing, is such a serious matter that it is difficult to be level-headed when discussing it. The issue has become so clouded with emotion that to question the value of a national inquiry is highly risky politically. But is it wrong to be concerned that a national inquiry would simply repeat what we already know, or would serve as an opportunity for political grandstanding by those with other agendas?

Rather than focus all of our energies on an inquiry as the sole solution, let us first examine the societal problems that have directly contributed to the number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women throughout Canada — problems that are too often ignored.

One of those problems is the ongoing marginalization of Indigenous women, not least within their own communities. Aboriginal women are literally at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in Canadian society. This is one of the reasons they are specifically targeted.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Bernard Valcourt was in hot water recently for comments he made about the issue. When addressing the possible causes of violence against Aboriginal women, Valcourt said part of the problem was that some Aboriginal men have a “lack of respect” toward women on reserve. He added, “So, you know, if the guys grow up believing that women have no rights, that’s how they are treated.”

Indigenous critics responded angrily. But while the minister might have chosen his words better, it remains true that some of these communities could do more to alleviate the problem of female marginalization and address violence against women on the reserve. Perhaps this is where Ottawa can invest more resources.

Recently, National Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) stated Aboriginal men who have “lost their way” need to help prevent the deaths and disappearances of Aboriginal women.

Many of these men need to deal with the legacy of the residential schools system, or break cycles of addiction and violence in their own lives. Money could more effectively be allocated to wellness and treatment centres to improve the lives of people who experienced severe trauma at the hands of the residential school system.

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A Frontier Centre study of First Nations communities throughout the Prairies confirmed that many reserve residents do feel women are marginalized in their communities. Survey respondents were asked if band governments were doing enough to protect women from violence. A troubling 42 per cent of respondents (1,090 were asked) across the provinces said “not really” or “never.”

The survey also asked about the political position of women within the community. Respondents were asked if women were involved in community decision-making. Only 25 per cent said “definitely.” Approximately 30 per cent said “perhaps” and 34 per cent responded “not really” or “never.”

The problem was compounded in the past by the lack of property rights for women on reserve. They were placed in a vulnerable position in the event of a marital breakdown, since provincial matrimonial laws providing for the equal sharing of possessions do not apply on reserves. Women who were victims of domestic violence were even more vulnerable, as the home was often in the male spouse’s name. This problem was resolved through the passage of federal legislation, Bill S-2, which granted on-reserve women access to property rights.

Of course, many Aboriginal women do not live on reserves. Women both on and off reserve need the sort of access to education and expanded economic opportunity that will make them less prone to exploitation, as well as secure housing and shelters. Police services should be reformed to identify those at risk and better respond to incidents of violence.

While one may question the need for a national inquiry, it is beyond question that advancing the rights of vulnerable Aboriginal women is part of the solution to combating violence against Aboriginal women.

National Post

Joseph Quesnel is a policy analyst with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, where he writes mainly on Aboriginal issues.

For every story like that of Tina Fontaine, the murdered Aboriginal teenager from Winnipeg whose case made the national news last summer, there are dozens more like it across the country that go largely unnoticed. In Aboriginal communities and urban centres alike, Indigenous women live with constant danger. The demand from Aboriginal peoples and many other Canadians for a national inquiry into missing and murdered women springs from this painful reality.

A recent conversation I had with a prominent Aboriginal woman leader in Saskatchewan made this clear. While she wasn’t sure about the need for an inquiry, she knew her community needed something. Violence against women was widespread and getting worse. The women were vulnerable and violence was growing, not declining. The police had too few officers and too many cases. Social and mental services could not match demand.

Women fled for the safety of nearby cities only to discover that their vulnerability came with them. She had no answers. She wanted to know that Canadians and their governments shared her frustrations and her worries about her community. Why, she wondered, did the country do so little when the problems were so obvious?

Aboriginal women, including those asking for an inquiry, know this issue all too well. They do not actually need an investigation to reveal the bitter truths about sexual violence, domestic abuse, or the racially driven violence directed at Indigenous women in cities. They know that most of the violence is Native to Native, and they suffer along with the men in their communities. What they do not understand is the refusal of general public and governments to declare the violence, murders and disappearances to be a national emergency.

Launching an official inquiry is no assurance of a positive and constructive outcome. As Aboriginal peoples discovered, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the mid 1990s did not result in dramatic changes in public policy. Did the outcomes of the Gomery Commission into the Sponsorship Scandal justify the price tag in the tens of millions?

Those with technical mandates – the Royal Commission on the Canadian blood system or the Dubin Inquiry into the use of performance enhancing drugs are good examples – can direct policy-makers to more constructive approaches. In general, however, inquiries take a long time, cost a lot of money, and result in fewer improvements than desired. And they can delay political and administrative action.

If a single program, law, regulation or policy would solve this complex problem, it would have been enacted by now. Deeply seated issues take decades to undo. The very least all Canadians can do is to ensure that Aboriginal women, victims or potential victims of violence and abuse, know that there is now a collective commitment to addressing both the immediate and the underlying issues.

There is much that can be done. Government leaders – federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal – should declare their commitment to giving higher priority to missing and murdered Aboriginal women, to making improvements in social services for Aboriginal families at risk, and to working with Aboriginal governments to identify special actions of high potential. Winnipeg, for example, has conceded that the police have to give more attention to their approach to missing Indigenous women.

First Nations can likewise hold community meetings to determine women’s sense of safety and vulnerability. Speaking about the issue out loud is a crucial first step. Urban service organizations can do a collective audit of need, services provided and outcomes. In some communities, anti-gang measures are urgently required. In others, actions to control drinking and domestic violence are the highest priority.

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There are no global solutions. Much of this is at the community level. Inside Aboriginal homes, where family lives have been devastated by decades of bad public policy, there are too many ill-treated children, over-crowded rooms, poor nutrition and signs of the ravages of serial unemployment and diminished cultural values.

Inquiry or not, Canada will not come out of this necessary national reconciliation unscathed. We must look hard at the long-term effects of racism, colonialism, residential schools, the Indian Act and government paternalism. Male power in Aboriginal communities will come under scrutiny, adding to local tensions.

As the country opens it eyes, it will no longer wonder why there is so much violence against women. One hopes that Canadians will wonder instead why they have not – as individuals, churches, community groups, governments, charities and others – done more. This pattern of pain and suffering diminishes each and every Canadian.

Aboriginal women in this country deserve far more than an inquiry. They deserve the right to live safely, in their homes, communities and cities, with dignity and respect from all. This is what they have deserved for generations. Surely this rich, compassionate and justice-seeking country can give it to them now.

National Post

Ken S. Coates is Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan, and a Senior Fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute (macdonaldlaurier.ca).

A police application for a search warrant has revealed grisly details of how the remains of six infants were discovered at a Winnipeg storage locker last fall.

The application — contained in court documents and written by a police child abuse unit investigator — states officers were called to the west-end operation on Oct. 20 when employees discovered suspected human remains in a locker.

The unit was rented to a woman who owed more than $276 in unpaid rent.

A worker told police he discovered “squishy” and “smelly” items inside garbage bags which had been stuffed into duffel bags and placed in plastic containers.

A police officer later told supervisors that he found what appeared to be a baby in a container before forensic investigators were called in on a warrant and discovered other infants in various states of decomposition.

Police also seized soiled clothing, rags and towels, along with various bags, purses and containers.

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Andrea Giesbrecht is facing six charges of concealing the bodies, as well as unrelated fraud charges and a count of breaching a court order.

Greg Brodsky, Giesbrecht’s lawyer, has said he believes the babies were stillborn. Police have said that it could take months of forensic examination before it’s known who the parents were, how the infants died and whether they were full term.

Brodsky initially argued that if the remains turned out to be less than 20 weeks gestation, they would not be considered children under the law.

CANADIAN PRESS/John WoodsConst. Eric Hofley, Winnipeg Police Service information officer, arrives at a news conference about the dead infants found in a storage locker in Winnipeg on Oct. 21, 2014.

WINNIPEG — Officials with the City of Winnipeg are waiting for more test results Wednesday in the hopes than an E. coli scare ends up evaporating.

Six routine samples taken on Monday tested positive on Tuesday for E. coli and coliform at extremely low levels.

Five of the six positive tests were east of the river, but one was in the city’s southwest, leading Mayor Brian Bowman to issue a citywide boil-water advisory “out of an abundance of caution.”

Bowman said the hope was that additional testing would show the previous results to be false-positives, which would allow the city to lift the boil-water order.

The Canadian Press/John WoodsWith a run on bottled water earlier in the day, late-night shoppers were greeted with empty shelves after Winnipeg authorities issued a boil water advisory after a e.coli positive test Tuesday.

Adam Schinkel, co-owner of Water World, a bottled water company, said his stores had closed for the day when the news broke.

“I got home around six o’clock, my phone started to blow up and all I was told was there was a boil-water advisory issued citywide in Winnipeg,” he said.

I got home around six o’clock, my phone started to blow up and all I was told was there was a boil-water advisory issued citywide in Winnipeg

Schinkel said he started making calls and staff at the stores quickly headed back to reopen.

“Our phones are ringing off the hook and we have a steady stream of customers coming in,” he said. “We’re here to help people that do need the water. From what I’m hearing, a lot of the grocery stores are already sold out of bottled water, so that’s sort of where we come into play.”

Melissa Hoft, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, said in a release there was no information to suggest there had been any increased illness attributable to the drinking water.

She said common symptoms would include gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

“Most people who are affected by a waterborne illness would be able to recover at home,” she said. “A sign to be concerned about would be the presence of bloody diarrhea and dehydration, and people having either of those symptoms should seek medical attention.”

Hoft said hospitals in the city had activated contingency plans.

The Canadian Press/John WoodsThe bottle-water shelf at a local store Tuesday.

Surgeries would not be affected since all procedures are done using medical-grade water supply, she said.

“While hemodialysis does use the city water supply, the reverse osmosis process of dialysis filters all bacteria and potential contaminants, including E. coli,” she said in the statement. “This process is safe.”

As for other patients, signs had been posted at water fountains advising not to drink the water and staff were ordering bottled water for patient and staff use.

Throughout the city, residents were told to bring tap water to a boil for at least one minute before using it to drink, make food or infant formula or brush teeth.

But it is not necessary to boil tap water for other household purposes, such as laundry or washing dishes.

Adults and children who can avoid swallowing water can use it to bathe. All commercial buildings, public and private, including restaurants, daycares and rest homes, are under the boil-water advisory.

All city pools remain open and the city says they are safe to use. The Pembina School Division said schools would be open today, but asked parents to send bottled water with their children as the water fountains would be shut off.

I think she’s skipping a shower cause she’s not convinced the water is really clean. The boy didn’t have a problem but the girl does

However, Dave Bilyk, a homeowner in south Winnipeg, said his family was coping well and did not feel the need to rush out and buy bottled water.

“We boiled about five or six litres worth and that way we can run it through the Keurig [coffee maker] for coffee in the morning and we can use it for brushing our teeth and so on.”

He said the only hiccup so far is the fact his daughter does not fully trust assurances that the water is safe to bathe in. His son, however, feels differently.

“I think she’s skipping a shower cause she’s not convinced the water is really clean,” he said with a chuckle. “The boy didn’t have a problem but the girl does.”

Geoff Patton, acting director of the Water and Waste Department, said the test results are puzzling, adding some showed the presence of both coliform and chlorine. He said those two don’t go together and it suggests the samples may be “false positives,” or incorrect indications of the presence of bacteria.

“It’s hard to understand — we see clean results upstream and downstream of the locations, and then we see this unusual sampling. So what has happened? That is what we’re looking to do. We’ve taken additional samples this morning that were distributed through the entire city and we’re expediting those samples to make sure everything is safe.”

The health authority said the presence of chlorine was “reassuring because this would suggest that any bacteria or viruses present in the water would likely be killed.”

Officials didn’t specify what type of E. coli was found in the samples. The presence of E. coli in water indicates recent fecal contamination and may indicate the possible presence of disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The Canadian Drinking Water Quality Guideline for total coliforms is zero per 100 millilitres of water and zero for E. coli.

Patton said the results of the samples included many with one coliform-forming unit per 100 millilitres and one that was higher, possibly nine.

While five of the six positive tests were east of the river, one was in the city’s southwest and Bowman said that led the city to expand its warning.

“This is a public health issue, this is the City of Winnipeg’s water supply, we’re confident in the safety of the water and we’re resampling to prove this out,” Patton said.

The city has faced water problems before. In 2013, a boil water advisory was issued and later lifted for a neighbourhood in Winnipeg when it was determined there was no E. coli contamination.

However, the city and province faced hard questions about how people were notified.

The province had issued an advisory five hours after the chief provincial public health officer said he had been aware of the positive test results. The city blamed the delay on Manitoba Health and said once it knew what was happening a news release was immediately issued.

Provincial officials said it took that long to determine a course of action.

Then about a year ago, the city finally figured out the cause of brown water that had been periodically pouring from residents’ taps for months.

They blamed manganese from Shoal Lake and water treatment plants, where it is used as a coagulant.

Then-mayor Sam Katz admitted the brown water was unappealing to residents and said that although health officials said the levels of manganese were not harmful, the city would nevertheless clean more than 2,500 kilometres of water pipes.

The city also said it would find ways to reduce the amount of manganese used during the water treatment process.

Winnipeg’s water is piped from Shoal Lake, Ont., about 150 kilometres east of the city, and treated at a plant near the Decon Reservoir east of the city. The $300-million facility opened in 2009 and can treat up to 400 million litres of water a day.

Seven people died and thousands were sickened in Walkerton, Ont., in May 2000 when E. coli got into the water system. An inquiry found cost-cutting by the government of former Tory premier Mike Harris contributed to the tragedy.

04:00ET 28-01-15

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/28/our-phones-are-ringing-off-the-hook-winnipeggers-scramble-for-bottled-water-as-city-issues-e-coli-warning/feed/2]]>stdWith a run on bottled water earlier in the day, late-night shoppers were greeted with empty shelves after Winnipeg authorities issued a boil water advisory after a e.coli positive test Tuesday.The Canadian Press/John Woods The Canadian Press/John WoodsKen S. Coates: In defence of Winnipeghttp://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/28/ken-s-coates-in-defence-of-winnipeg/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/28/ken-s-coates-in-defence-of-winnipeg/#commentsWed, 28 Jan 2015 11:30:14 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=686597

With its current edition, Maclean’s magazine has sparked a national debate about the nature and extent of Canadian racism. Through the simple device of calling Winnipeg the “most racist” city in Canada, it has shone a light on one of the greatest “wicked problems” (a complex problem for which there is no simple solution) in Canadian public life. But it moves us no closer to a resolution.

Racism is clearly part of the picture. But attaching it to the situation facing First Nations suggests that the solution lies in tackling the racists and changing their attitudes. That’s putting the cart before the horse.

Picking on Winnipeg also blames the city for demographic and social accidents beyond its control. The challenges facing indigenous peoples are particularly acute in cities with large aboriginal populations, both in percentage and absolute terms. In these cities — Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary — the size of the First Nations population makes the issue a collective challenge and responsibility.

There are serious issues in the Manitoban capital. The migration of First Nations people from northern Manitoba, which has one of the lowest per-capita incomes in the country and many communities in serious crisis, exacerbates the existing problems in the city. For northern First Nations people, Winnipeg is an “arrival city,” a place that at least holds the promise of a better life and an escape from hardship. There is thus little reason for Canadians in other cities to look down their noses at those on the frontlines trying to deal with the legacy of Canada’s failed aboriginal policies.

The point to bear in mind is that — strident racists aside — there is an overwhelming consensus in this country about the need to end that legacy and improve opportunities for aboriginal people. The constructive and positive developments in recent years, from constitutional and legal recognition of rights to surging aboriginal business development and large-scale indigenous enrolment in colleges and universities, have set the country on a much different course. That problems persist is widely recognized.

First Nations want — and deserve — full recognition and acceptance of their aboriginal and treaty rights. First Nations also generally want greater autonomy, less interference from the federal government, and the resources needed to secure the same level of services that other Canadians take for granted. Many aboriginal Canadians — but no longer most — stay in their traditional territories and communities, but all want and expect a fair return from the development of resources on their lands. More than anything, they want, expect and deserve to be accepted as full members of the broader Canadian community.

Wicked problems defy easy solutions, and this case is no different. But Canada has enough successful First Nations communities, from Whitecap in Saskatchewan, to Old Crow in the Yukon and Membertou in Nova Scotia, to prove that the problems are not as intractable as many Canadian believe. That is the narrative that holds out hope for something better for aboriginal people, because it makes them powerful actors in their own renaissance.

Related

But there is an alternative narrative, one that focuses on racism and victimization, social isolation and poverty. This narrative claims that despicable attitudes on the part of a minority of Canadians are the problem, and therefore implies that progress is only possible if we defeat those attitudes. This transfers the power to effect change to those elements of society least likely to change, and most hostile to the progress of aboriginal people.

The response of Winnipegers — aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike — to the Maclean’s article is a classic example of the first, empowering, narrative. The community doesn’t just resent its portrayal as a bastion of racism; it more importantly resents the neglect of the real collective action being undertaken to set things right, even in the face of the racism that undeniably exists there and elsewhere in Canada.

Canada needs to think about the most effective strategy for redefining its relationship with First Nations peoples. If our understanding of the current situation and the opportunities of the future is limited to hurling accusations at one another, we will find it harder to change the reality of Aboriginal people on the ground.

Many First Nations people understand that they have real options, based on aboriginal title, indigenous rights, and First Nations cultural strength, in defining their own future. Many non-aboriginal people already stand alongside their aboriginal friends and neighbours, determined to build a more equitable future.

Winnipeg, irony of ironies, is at the forefront of this cooperative, aboriginally-driven, inter-racial problem-solving effort that is the real hope for indigenous peoples. By choosing the narrative of change, and of successful collaboration between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians, we can continue to see First Nations businesses, aboriginal communities, and accomplished Indigenous Canadians flourish. In so doing we may not eliminate every vestige of racism, but can and will render the racists amongst us irrelevant.

National Post

Ken S. Coates is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and Canada Research Chair in regional innovation in the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

In 2010, after Maclean’s ran a cover story suggesting Quebec was Canada’s most corrupt province, illustrated with a cartoon in which Bonhomme Carnaval made off with a briefcase full to bursting of cash, the reaction from political leaders was an unadulterated snit fit. “Today, Maclean’s deliberately decided to attack the whole of Quebec … who we are as a society,” thundered deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau (who not long thereafter admitted accepting flowers and Céline Dion tickets from construction industry bigwig Lino Zambito). Federal Conservative minister Josée Verner was one of several observers to invent a rule under which Bonhomme — “one of our great ambassadors,” she said — was off limits for satirical purposes. And the House of Commons unanimously declared itself “profoundly saddened.”

Contrast the response to this week’s Maclean’s cover, alleging that Winnipeg is Canada’s most racist city — racist against aboriginal Canadians, that is. Few who don’t know the city would have been surprised had the response to such an incendiary charge been similarly indignant. And indeed some Winnipeggers did take issue with the notion, which is very difficult to quantify, that theirs is in fact the most racist city in Canada. Well-known writer Don Marks accused Maclean’s reporter Nancy Macdonald of being an “elite from the east” and a “news tourist.” (Ms. Macdonald hails from Winnipeg.)

But Mr. Marks nevertheless agreed with the overall “most racist” statement. “We’ve known it for a long time,” he wrote at CBC. “You’d have to walk around Winnipeg with your eyes covered in hockey tape and your ears filled with molasses not to notice this city’s racism problem,” wrote Winnipeg Free Press columnist Bartley Kives. Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman, who is Métis, quickly assembled an emotional press conference featuring police, community and aboriginal leaders, all of whom pledged to redouble their ongoing efforts to tackle the problem.

It is a heartening reaction coming from the city with Canada’s largest aboriginal population — one that ought to steel national resolve to do better by them. Canadians tend to be quick to deplore the state of race relation in the United States. But Maclean’s features an alarming chart showing the rates of unemployment, incarceration, homicide, infant mortality and high-school dropouts among aboriginal Canadians are higher relative to the overall population — in several cases much higher — than among African-Americans.

Winnipeg embodies the challenge Canada faces as a nation — and the opportunity

The shocking scenes Ms. Macdonald relays — the murder of Tina Fontaine, dumped into the Red River; children as young as 11 working the sex trade, as young as nine huffing gasoline in the streets; rashes of suicides and violent deaths; a man ignored for 34 hours in a hospital waiting room before he was found dead — may be all too easy for Canadians in cities like Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, with their relatively small aboriginal populations, to ignore. But Winnipeg embodies the challenge Canada faces as a nation — and the opportunity.

In the near future one-third of kindergarten students in Manitoba will be aboriginal, Jamie Wilson, treaty commissioner for Manitoba, told Ms. Macdonald. “To Wilson, the question is simple,” she reported: “Does Manitoba want to create a skilled, educated workforce or an army of under-employed, undereducated indigenous youth dependent on government assistance and services?”

That is precisely the question. Nationally, it should be said, Canada has made some progress: The murder rate among aboriginal women, for example, fell by 40% from 1996 to 2011. More and more aboriginal Canadians are graduating from university. Median employment income among aboriginal Canadians has grown, and the gap between non-aboriginal earnings has shrunk. But we need to do better.

The exploding aboriginal population should be a cause for celebration, not dread. Neither defeatism nor prejudice will help it become one.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/24/national-post-view-the-opportunity-in-winnipegs-shame/feed/2std0123_Winnipeg_racismAfter Winnipeg called worst place in Canada for racism, city leaders admit there is a problemhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/22/after-winnipeg-called-worst-place-in-canada-for-racism-city-leaders-admit-there-is-a-problem/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/22/after-winnipeg-called-worst-place-in-canada-for-racism-city-leaders-admit-there-is-a-problem/#commentsFri, 23 Jan 2015 01:48:52 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=576596

After acknowledging the Treaty 1 Metis land on which he stood, the mayor of Winnipeg took a long, deep breath Thursday and said racism against Aboriginal people is a big problem in his city.

Flanked by a number of social, political and cultural leaders in the prairie city summoned to his office with only an hour’s notice, Mayor Brian Bowman stressed that racism is a problem nationwide, not just in Winnipeg.

But he did not dispute the claim made on the cover of Maclean’s magazine, published Thursday, that claimed “Canada has a bigger race problem than America. And it’s ugliest in Winnipeg.” In fact he went further, saying he hopes Winnipeg can “lead the nation” in eradicating racism.

“Racism and intolerance exists in every community, but we do have a problem in Winnipeg,” Mr. Bowman told the National Post by phone. “Instead of shrinking from the challenge, we need to rise up and we need to do better as a community.”

The article — the reason for his hastily called press conference — said national attention on the death of 15-year-old Aboriginal girl Tina Fontaine last summer has forced the city of 633,000 to face its “festering” racism. Indigenous writer Rosanna Deerchild, who is depicted on the cover, said she is routinely called a “stupid squaw” — a deeply derogatory term for Aboriginal women.

“We’re here together to face this head-on as one community,” Mr. Bowman told the media.

It was a significant step for the leader of Winnipeg and perhaps a critical one for the city’s first mayor of aboriginal descent, though the former privacy lawyer rarely mentioned his heritage during his campaign.

‘I guarantee that right now somebody’s having a racist experience in a restaurant, or on the streets in Winnipeg’

Describing Winnipegger’s reactions to the article, Mr. Bowman told the National Post “the natural instinct is to kill the messenger and attack Maclean’s.”

He noted, however, that he was “impressed” with how few people had done so.

“Most people I’ve spoke with, and certainly the leaders who gathered here at city hall today, recognize that we do have a problem, and we need to do a better job of addressing it,” he said.

Wab Kinew, a Canadian broadcaster, musician and university administrator in Winnipeg, feels the mayor did “the right thing.”

Mike Deal/Winnipeg Free PressWinnipeg mayor Brian Bowman speaking about racism in the city. He was joined by members from across the community including; Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Jamie Wilson, Treaty Commissioner, Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, Police Chief Devon Clunis, Minister of Jobs and the Economy, and Minister responsible for relations with the City of Winnipeg, Dr. David Barnard, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manitoba, Dr. Annette Trimbee, President and Vice Chancellor at the University of Winnipeg, Michael Champagne and Althea Guiboche amongst others.

“He focused on the broader truth – Winnipeg does have this issue,” Mr. Kinew told the National Post Thursday. “There’s also an opportunity here to do things the right way and maybe show some leadership on how to do right by indigenous people.”

Mr. Kinew said he quickly rearranged meetings planned for Thursday afternoon when he received a text from the mayor’s office inviting him to take part.

He and University of Manitoba president Dr. David Barnard drove there together and joined with a group of others in a boardroom before the 12:45 pm CT news conference.

“There were maybe two dozen people in a small meeting beforehand. Somebody gave me tobacco and we smudged together, said a short prayer, sang a song, just took a moment of contemplation and quiet,” he said. “Then it was ‘lights, camera, action.’

Mr. Kinew remembers being the target of racism as a kid at the hockey rink in Winnipeg. Most jarring of all, he said, was being targeted by the parents of fellow players.

The Maclean’s story opened by quoting a Facebook post written in December by a Winnipeg high school teacher, which said Aboriginal people are “Just standing with their hand out” and that he, as a white man, should “not be on the hook for their cultural support.”

Now, as an adult, Mr. Kinew says the racism is mostly subtle.

“I’m a professional, but people assume I’m some entry level or custodial worker. Or people will be talking to me about ‘Oh, the taxes you don’t pay,’ or ‘Everyone in your community’s got issues with alcohol or problems with government dependence.’

It’s like ‘Well there’s only one native person you’re talking to right now and that guy doesn’t depend on the government, he’s not an alcoholic or any of these things you’re trying to paint me with. So what are you really trying to say?'”

Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

Although Mayor Bowman acknowledged that racism is a particularly difficult issue for a city hall to fight, members of the impromptu gathering acknowledged that there is hope for the city.

“I’m not here to pacify racism or to provide a politically correct statement on the reality of racism within the institutions that we function within every day,” said head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak.

“I guarantee that right now somebody’s having a racist experience in a restaurant, or on the streets in Winnipeg somewhere. I’m not here to pacify that or to say that it’s OK. But what I am here to do is I’m here to acknowledge the great work of people who get up every morning of every day to challenge racism in this city.”

Everybody knows how to raise children except the people who have them, said writer P.J. O’Rourke.

In the case of governments, it seems there is less and less recognition that successful or even reasonable means of childrearing vary, and are best left to parents to choose between. Like so many other areas of life, parenthood is slowly being taken over by the busybodies of the state.

The most recent example in the United States was the Maryland couple who were investigated by child protective services (CPS) for letting their six-year-old and 10-year-old children walk home together, unsupervised, from a park a mile from their house.

The incident happened last month, but the mother, Danielle Meitiv, says that the family is still being hounded by CPS, with a worker recently demanding entry into her home without a warrant and interviewing her child at school without her knowledge or consent.

Meitiv wrote to Reason magazine of herself and her husband: “We are frightened and confused. We are good parents, educated professionals, and our children are happy, healthy, well-adjusted, and academically successful.

“As difficult as it is for us to believe, all of these events occurred as the result of allowing our children to walk along public streets in the middle of the afternoon without our supervision.”

Wouldn’t happen here, I thought when I read about that story in December. Now I’m not so sure: In Manitoba, Crown prosecutors are currently pursuing criminal child abandonment charges against a Winnipeg mother who left her six-year-old home alone for an hour and a half. If she is convicted, the mother will face up to five years in prison.

The child came to no harm during the 90 minutes spent solo at home, and there was no evidence of any particular risks (sharp objects within reach, fifth-floor windows that are easily opened, etc.).

At issue in prosecutor Nancy Fazenda’s mind, though, is what might have happened. “Even in a home environment, that child was endangered,” Fazenda said, according to the Winnipeg Free Press. The prosecutor listed a home invasion and a sudden flood among the possible scenarios that would have put the lone child at risk.

But the truth is, loath though we may be to admit it, there’s not a lot parents can do to protect their offspring in the face of natural disasters or violent crimes. And it’s not like such things happen very often.

Related

Many six-year-olds — perhaps most — would not be ready to play quietly in their rooms or a den for 90 minutes unsupervised. My son would not have been at that age, and still isn’t at age almost-eight.

Yet some six-year-olds would be, especially with a sibling in another room or a kindly neighbour next door. The best person to judge that is the parent or caregiver who knows the child, knows the home environment, and knows the alternative scenarios that are possible. For example, in the case of the Winnipeg mom, maybe the errands that she was doing while her child was home were crucial to the family — getting groceries, picking up medication, attending a job interview — and the cost of childcare was simply not in the budget.

There is no question that we all have an interest in government stepping in to protect a child who is truly being abused, endangered, or neglected. But there is far more of a question as to what constitutes real danger and what is merely giving children who are ready for it more independence than our society currently views as normal. Is a happy, healthy, confident self-reliant kid who walks home from the park alone, or watches a DVD on his couch unsupervised, really benefitted by being taken away from his parents — or seeing them taken to jail?

It may have been a parenting mistake for the Winnipeg mom to leave her child alone — it’s hard to know without knowing the child and the home — but it should not be construed as a crime. Parents need room to use their specific knowledge of the maturity and responsibility of each of their kids to choose how best to give them the limits and space they need.

National Post

Marni Soupcoff is executive director of the Canadian Constitution Foundation (theccf.ca). msoupcoff@theccf.ca

The act of leaving an elementary school child home alone could soon be explicitly illegal, depending on whether a Manitoba judge decides to convict a mother for leaving her six-year-old home alone for 90 minutes.

Coming at the same time as a Maryland mother was investigated for letting her children walk to a park alone, the Manitoba case could signal the beginnings of a Canadian legal ban on latchkey kids — even when the child isn’t in danger.

“The Crown is arguing that the inherent dangers of leaving the child in a house should be sufficient,” said Mike Law, lawyer for the accused Winnipeg mother, whose name has not been made public.

Calling the case “precedent-setting,” Mr. Law said neither he nor prosecutors have found any record of a parent being convicted for leaving their school-age child in a home that, to all outside observers, is risk-free.

“No broken glass, no knives left around, it wasn’t the middle of winter, it wasn’t an apartment building where windows could be opened,” said the defence lawyer.

Related

Winnipeg child abandonment cases are usually much more ghastly. Last March, a 22-year-old mother was convicted after abandoning her children, ages two and four, for hours as she drank at a hotel bar.

The year before, a 23-year-old faced child-abandonment charges after she wheeled her toddler into a ditch and wandered away to sleep off an ecstasy high.

In the case currently being decided, a Winnipeg mother was arrested soon after Child and Family Services became aware that she intentionally left her child unattended for 90 minutes as she ran errands.

The specific charge is child abandonment, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Under the Criminal Code, child abandonment is defined as doing anything to a child “so that its life is or is likely to be endangered or its health is or is likely to be permanently injured.”

“Even in a home environment, that child was endangered,” prosecutor Nancy Fazenda argued Monday, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

Although nothing bad happened, in 90 minutes, Ms. Fazenda argued, the child could have choked to death, electrocuted themselves or fallen down a set of stairs — not to mention the consequences of a sudden flood, fire or home invasion.

The case is set to be decided in 30 days.

‘No broken glass, no knives left around, it wasn’t the middle of winter, it wasn’t an apartment building where windows could be opened’

In the U.S., the issue of “child independence” has recently been thrown into the spotlight after parents in Silver Spring, Maryland, were investigated for neglect after they directed their 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter to walk to a local park on their own.

“The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood,” mother Danielle Meitiv told the Washington Post.

Federally, there has never been a set age at which a Canadian child can be safely left alone — although various provinces and counties all keep their own guidelines on the question.

Under Manitoba’s Child and Family Services Act, a child under 12 years old is seen to be in “need of protection” if it is “left unattended and without reasonable provision being made for the supervision and safety of the child.”

In Ontario’s Simcoe County, the Children’s Aid Society draws the line at 10 years old. “There is no magical number of minutes that a child can be left alone,” reads a society pamphlet.

Other Ontario Children’s Aid Societies have simply warned that if a child under 10 is found home alone, “the onus is on the parent” to prove to authorities that “their child has not been left in a potentially harmful situation.”

In the U.K. — where thousands of citizens grew up as latchkey children during the Second World War — the issue of children being left home alone was recently highlighted by the case of Joan, a woman attempting to clear her record of a “police caution” for child neglect.

Eight years before, Joan had been handed the citation after leaving her six-year-old son home alone for 45 minutes as she took a driving lesson.

“He was in no danger when I left him,” she told the Sunday Times.

Britons do not appear to be taking Joan’s side. Last November, a YouGov poll commissioned by The Times found that two thirds of U.K. citizens wanted to make it illegal for any child younger than 12 to be left on their own.

Plain and simple, governments shouldn’t treat people differently based on race.

Seems like a simple concept, but that is not what’s happening at the federal government’s new Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. Yes, you read that right — a “human rights” museum is singling people out based on race.

Recently, the Winnipeg Sun exposed how the new federal museum doesn’t charge First Nations, Inuit or Métis admission, provided they show ID. Why those three groups were chosen seems to be some kind of mystery.

The museum claims the three were selected “to help ensure Indigenous People have access to expressions of their culture.”

What about Jewish people, Ukrainian people, Chinese people, members of the LGTBQ community, persons with disabilities, and others, who have faced discrimination in the past and want to view exhibits describing their challenges?

Are they supposed to just reach into their pocket and pay while the museum allows some other people to just walk right in free of charge? The museum would sheepishly say, “Yes.”

The museum doesn’t have a good response for aboriginal, Metis and Inuit people who may be offended by their freebie policy. Imagine being a native Canadian, walking up to the museum with a group of friends (of all races) and then being singled out and told you didn’t have to pay.

Wouldn’t you be a bit embarrassed to be discriminated against by the museum while each of your friends had to fork over $15? The museum should be ashamed about the discomfort they’re causing to aboriginal, Metis and Inuit people who may find themselves in such a position.

Furthermore, the museum can hardly afford to let anyone in for free. In fact, it’s the last organization in Canada that should be encouraging customers not to pay the entrance fee.

The numbers are even more shocking on an individual level. The museum expects 250,000 visitors annually. Divide that into the $21.7 million grant from the feds and each person walking into the museum is subsidized by $86.80. You may only pay $15 to enter, but the true cost is about $101.80.

Expensive and discriminatory — clearly the museum has a lot of work to do.

But the discriminatory policy won’t change on its own. Taxpayers need to speak out and complain to the museum. Let museum officials know that you believe discrimination is wrong. At the same time, the public should be calling their members of Parliament and urging them to take action. After all, the museum is a federal institution. If enough members of Parliament hear blowback on the discriminatory policy, they’ll be quick to take action.

Oh, and you might want to mention the $86.80 per visitor subsidy too.

National Post

Colin Craig is a Metis Canadian and Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

WINNIPEG — The lawyer for a Winnipeg musician who is accused of letting his 89-year-old mother die after she fell out of bed last month says his client is devastated.

Mike Cook says Ron Siwicki is a kind man who was complying with his mother’s wishes.

Cook says Siwicki kept his mother comfortable with energy drinks for several days until she died.

Siwicki, 62, has been in custody since his arrest on Dec. 17. He has been charged with criminal negligence causing death and failing to provide the necessities of life.

Investigators say Betty Siwicki stumbled inside the Winnipeg home where she lived with her son in late November. She was unable to get up on her own, investigators claim, and her son allegedly failed to seek medical attention.

“She did not want help, or for him to call for assistance. He complied with her wishes,” Cook said.

WINNIPEG — With one short sentence, spoken haltingly before one of the biggest native gatherings in the country, teenager Rinelle Harper made her debut as an activist Tuesday.

Family members and supporters said Canadians can expect to see more of the shy 16-year-old, who just a month earlier fought back attackers who sexually assaulted her and left her for dead by the Assiniboine River.

She clutched an eagle feather and read aloud from a prepared statement before the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly.

“As a survivor,” she said, “I respectfully challenge you all to call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.”

Her call, made at a gathering designed to elect a new grand chief, was met with a roar of applause and a standing ovation. The audience was filled with people who have long awaited a powerful spokeswoman to put a face to the issue.

“I ask that everyone here remembers a few simple words,” she told the gathered audience. “Love, kindness, respect and forgiveness.”

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief David Harper, a relative of Ms. Harper’s who also represents her Garden Hill reserve, said Tuesday that she “will be advocating for murdered and missing aboriginal women” in 2015 and will “for sure” be present at February’s national round table on the issue, where aboriginal leaders plan to make a strong case for a national inquiry.

“With her coming here and showing her strength, it gives strength to others to come forward,” Cameron Alexis, AFN Regional Chief for Alberta, who is responsible for the murdered and missing women file, told the National Post.

“More importantly it’s a very, very strong message to the leaders of this country to do what is right. We can’t keep having this day after day, month after month. We have to reduce the level of violence in this country towards all indigenous people.”

He told the gathered assembly that Rinelle’s story puts a face to “cold statistics” about the plight of murdered and missing aboriginal women: An RCMP review from May reported 164 aboriginal women missing. Upwards of 1,017 of them were homicide victims. The current tally of the murdered and missing is roughly 1,180. The death of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year-old who was found dead and wrapped in plastic in Winnipeg’s Red River last August, initially renewed calls for a national inquiry and momentum has been building since.

Grand Chief Harper said Rinelle was reluctant to speak at first, but “now she is starting to understand why she has to speak out.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan With the support of her family, Rinelle Harper, second from left, stands after speaking at the Assembly of First Nations Election in Winnipeg on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

Elders have told Rinelle that she has been given “a gift,” he said.

“A gift for those who cannot speak for themselves, those who have passed on,” Grand Chief Harper said. “You’re the voice for them.

“This is why she is doing what she has to do now. Even though she didn’t want it, it is given to her.”

Addressing the assembly — which will focus much of its attention on murdered and missing women in the coming days — Grand Chief Harper said the federal government’s commitment to the issue would become clear in February, based on who is gathered around the table.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his cabinet ministers are invited to the roundtable, to be held in Ottawa. So far, only federal status of women minister Dr. Kellie Leitch has committed to attend. The prime minister has said the issue is not a “sociological phenomenon” and is one best handled by police.

There was a sense Tuesday that the media attention and national conversations about these women are seen as a very welcome change.

“We have been talking about this for many, many years and finally there are people that are listening to our plea,” Therese Villeneuve, chair of the National Women’s Council said Tuesday. “We are really trying to get this healing for us so that nothing like this continues to happen.”

After her remarks Tuesday, flanked by family, Rinelle continued to clutch the eagle feather, twirling it in her hands. She’d stop every now and then to accept well-wishes from some of the 1,300 AFN delegates and 300 chiefs attending the three-day Winnipeg meeting.

She and her younger sister Rayne, who never left her sister’s side Tuesday, posed for a photo tweeted out by the AFN later in the day. In it, they hold posters plugging hashtag awareness campaigns: #NotOkay and #ipledgeendviolence.

In the photo, Rinelle is still clutching her eagle feather.

Her alleged attackers, a 20-year-old and a 17-year-old, face charges of attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon.

Rinelle was out celebrating the end of her midterm exams in Winnipeg when she became separated from her friends.

She met two young men and the trio walked down to the Assiniboine River. There, police say, she was brutally attacked and ended up in the river. When she crawled out of the frigid water further upstream, police say she was attacked again and left for dead.

National Post, with files from CP

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan Rinelle Harper speaks at the Assembly of First Nations Election in Winnipeg on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/09/rinelle-harper-makes-her-debut-as-an-activist-and-advocate-for-indigenous-women/feed/0std1210 AFN women THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan Rinelle Harper calls for inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women, a month after she was left for dead in riverbankhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/09/rinelle-harper-calls-for-inquiry-into-murdered-and-missing-aboriginal-women-a-month-after-she-was-left-for-dead-in-riverbank/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/12/09/rinelle-harper-calls-for-inquiry-into-murdered-and-missing-aboriginal-women-a-month-after-she-was-left-for-dead-in-riverbank/#commentsTue, 09 Dec 2014 18:39:25 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=552818

WINNIPEG — Clutching an eagle feather in one hand and a prepared statement in the other, First Nations sexual assault survivor Rinelle Harper used her first major public appearance since the attack to call for a national inquiry into Canada’s murdered and missing aboriginal women.

Just a month and a day after she was left for dead in a riverbank not far from the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly where she was honoured in a ceremony Tuesday, the 16-year-old spoke in a monotone that seemed to take all of her strength to muster.

“I’m here to talk about an end to violence against young women,” she told one of Canada’s largest First Nations gatherings, her voice halting slightly. “I am thankful for the thoughts and prayers from everyone. I understand that conversations have been happening all across the country about ending violence against indigenous women and girls. But I want to continue on with my life and I am thankful I will be able to go back to school to see my friends and be with my family.”

Trevor Hagan / The Canadian PressWith the support of her family, Rinelle Harper, second from left, stands after speaking at the Assembly of First Nations Election in Winnipeg on Tuesday, December 9, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Trevor Hagan

Since being beaten and sexually assaulted on a path by the Assiniboine River in downtown Winnipeg on Nov 8, Ms. Harper has improved with every day, and even met with the men who saved her life. Others have met with her since to share their own stories of healing.

“I ask that everyone here remembers a few simple words: Love, kindness, respect and forgiveness,” she said. “As a survivor, I respectfully challenge you all to call for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.”

Her remarks were met with a standing ovation, the crowd of delegates, chiefs and elders loud in their support. Flanked by her family, she shook hands with a stream of elders on the AFN stage — a political event in downtown Winnipeg where a new national chief will be elected this week. She also spoke quietly with her sister and mother, sharing short comments and even small smiles, searching the crowd with her eyes as others at the podium spoke — exhibiting a shy, quiet confidence. She also clutched hands with supporters who wished her well as she took a seat with her family amidst the crowd.

The issue of murdered and missing women took prominence at the assembly of 1,300 delegates and 300 chiefs and proxies from First Nations across Canada, colouring nearly every aspect of the opening ceremonies.

Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis, who leads the AFN’s work on the issue of murdered and missing aboriginal women, said Harper’s story put a face to the “cold statistics” in this country: Aboriginal women and girls are three times more likely than non-aboriginals to be victims of violence.

He thanked Ms. Harper for her courage to stand before the assembly Tuesday morning.

“We must learn of her story and say loudly and clearly: Not. One. More. It is time to act, to end this senseless type of violence.”

John Woods / The Canadian PressJulie and Caesar Harper, parents of Rinelle Harper, are comforted by Chief Andrew Colomb (centre) of Marcel Colomb First Nation and Chief Gregg Harper (left) of Red Sucker Lake at a press conference in Winnipeg on Nov. 13.

Ms. Harper’s parents made the rare decision last month to publicize their daughter’s name in hopes of expediting the police investigation. It worked: Two men, one 20 and the other 17, were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault with a weapon.

But the publicity has done much more: It’s continued the momentum around the push for a national inquiry into the 1,180 murdered and missing aboriginal women and girls in Canada; a problem the delegates gathered at this assembly will tackle in discussions this week. The Assembly of First Nations is hoping its new chief will maintain sharp focus on the quest for a national inquiry into the murdered and missing women. Last May, the national RCMP reported 164 aboriginal women in their review were recorded missing. Upwards of 1,017 of them were homicide victims.

The AFN is working to get more federal faces at February’s National Roundtable on Missing and Murdered Women, which has so far garnered commitments from Status of Women minister Dr. Kellie Leitch, and premiers from across Canada.

Addressing the assembly Tuesday, Grand Chief David Harper of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakinak First Nation said the federal government’s commitment to the issue would become clear in February, based on who is gathered around the table.

“We have been talking about this for many, many years and finally there are people that are listening to our plea,” said Therese Villeneuve, chair of the National Women’s Council. “We are really trying to get this healing for us so that nothing like this continues to happen.”

Manitoba premier Greg Sellinger said the forthcoming roundtable will be the first time premiers have come together with “100% consensus” on this issue.

“There is much to do in this province since the tragic death of Tina Fontaine and many others who have gone before her and regrettably some who have gone since her tragic death. As you assemble today we want you to know we’re here in partnership with First Nations across this country and we look forward to your deliberations and the ability to work with you both on a provincial and on a national level as well.”

The death of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine in August renewed the call for a national inquiry and squared scrutiny on the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. Fontaine was found wrapped in plastic in Winnipeg’s Red River. She had been in the care of Child and Family Services and had been reported missing before her death. Her

Both young women came to Winnipeg from reserves north of the city in pursuit of a better education and a better life. Fontaine wanted to one day work with children. Ms. Harper wants to join the military.

She had been out with friends the night of her death but somehow got separated from the group. She was attacked on a path by the Assiniboine River shortly after midnight Saturday, Nov. 8. Police believe one of her attackers may have gone on to sexually assault another woman. Ms. Harper made her first public appearance late last month, when she met with the men who saved her life.

“Her fast recovery is a miracle from above,” Ms. Harper’s grandfather, Fred Harper, said at the time.

While announcing Fontaine’s death, Winnipeg police Sergeant John O’Donovan said far more attention needs to be paid to the plight of these missing and murdered girls. “Society would be horrified if we found a litter of kittens or pups in the river in this condition.” he said. “This is a child. Society should be horrified.”

Despite claiming to have undertaken a serious internal investigation of the Jian Ghomeshi affair, CBC executives did not ask a single Q employee a single question, according to an investigation by the CBC investigative program the fifth estate.

The program surveyed 17 people who worked on the arts radio show last summer, and spoke with everyone but the former executive producer.

“No one said they’d been approached [by management], no questions ever asked,” said Gillian Findlay, host of the fifth estate, airing Friday night.

Asked to explain the discrepancy, Chris Boyce, head of CBC Radio, said he could not, and that it was a question for Janice Rubin, the outside counsel hired to probe the institutional response.

The finding is the most shocking revelation in an investigation that pokes holes in the official account of how CBC responded over the past year to growing evidence of Mr. Ghomeshi’s behaviour, both within the CBC and in his private life. He now faces criminal charges of sexual assault and overcoming resistance by choking.

It also reports Mr. Ghomeshi lied in his notorious Facebook post about being offered the chance to walk away quietly before he was fired, to leave the impression it was his own decision.

“That is untrue,” said Mr. Boyce. He said Mr. Ghomeshi was offered 24 hours to provide more information, possibly about a mental illness. “He was very upset, he maintained his innocence and beyond that, I’m not comfortable getting into details.”

The fifth estate investigation does not reveal new alleged victims, and many of the accounts have been previously reported. None are named.

The investigation advances the theory that CBC might have been slow to take action against its most marketable star.

In interviews with two former producers, Sean Foley and Brian Coulton, it describes how Mr. Ghomeshi “broke down” and confessed to them while on location in Winnipeg last spring, saying he likes rough sex and an angry ex-girlfriend is “threatening to tell everybody.” He said he was confident he had done nothing illegal.

Later, Mr. Ghomeshi revealed to his producers that someone was posting allegations about him on Twitter under the name @BigEarsTeddy, which is a toy bear he uses for anxiety relief. Neither knew what to do. One started having panic attacks.

In late June, independent journalist Jesse Brown, who has partnered in his investigation with the Toronto Star, sent an email to Q employees, laying out the allegations as he understood them, specifically mentioning the crime of assault, and saying the “inappropriate behaviour may have crossed over into the workplace.”

Mr. Foley and Mr. Coulton went to their superiors with this email and the Twitter account, confident the CBC would take it seriously. Mr. Boyce said none of the material they presented was new to executives, and that the “majority” was not about the workplace. Mr. Boyce said he believed the tweets, at least, were “inaccurate.” But CBC did investigate.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteGhomeshi was granted bail just hours after being charged with multiple counts of sexual assault.

CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said the investigation consisted of a review of Mr. Ghomeshi’s file, cross-referenced with other disciplinary issues, and interviews conducted “very discreetly” with a cross-section of managers, program leaders and Q employees. He said it found no evidence of sexual harassment.

In the fifth estate show, Mr. Boyce said the CBC did not seek more information from the Toronto Star about what it knew of the alleged victims, nor try to find out who was behind the @BigEarsTeddy account.

“Our job is not to be the police,” he said. Even as the CBC fired Mr. Ghomeshi, based on what has been described as evidence of assault, it did not go to police. Mr. Boyce said, in hindsight, if he could do it again, he might have done so.

WINNIPEG — A seal has drowned at Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park Zoo after his head became stuck to an underwater drain.

The animal was unable to get free and staff found him dead in his pool Monday morning.

Brian Joseph, the facility’s director of zoological operations, said the vertical suction drain, about 15 centimetres in diameter, was located on a pool wall with a grate over top.

“We don’t know exactly what happened. We do know that seals are very investigative. They’re always poking around and we suspect he poked around and got stuck,” Joseph said Tuesday.

“We’re very saddened by his death. We try to keep our animals safe in every way we can but sometimes we’re unable to protect them from things that they do.”

The male harbour seal, named Caelum, was stranded as a pup on Vancouver Island almost two years ago. Officials with the Vancouver Aquarium determined he was almost completely blind and could not be released.

He was transferred to the Winnipeg zoo in July.

Joseph said the drain had never caused a problem with a seal before and the death came as a shock.

The valve to the drain, the only one like it in the pool, has been permanently shut off, he said, and the zoo’s remaining male harbour seal is safe.

Joseph said staff members are saddened by the death of the animal.

“Every loss of every animal we take very personally because we truly do our best to keep them safe.”

A Siberian tiger was killed by another tiger at the zoo in September after an employee mistakenly left a gate unlocked between their two enclosures. A group of high school students on a class field trip witnessed part of the attack.

The adage that we deserve the politicians we get is usually uttered as a curse.

For Winnipeg, it seems to be a blessing.

At a time of vicious assaults against young aboriginal women, and recent polling that suggests three-quarters of residents believe they live in a racially divided city, Winnipeggers have elected its first aboriginal mayor.

Brian Bowman, 42, rarely mentioned his Metis heritage during his campaign. He branded himself as a business-friendly conservative with the heart of a crusading progressive – a guy who would not only bring order to a fractious city council but fight tax increases and promote the arts.

But it is how he handles the city’s aboriginal issues – which affect 78,000 off-reserve aboriginals, the largest number of urban natives in the country – that will be under scrutiny across Canada.

First and foremost I’m a Winnipegger, and I think that’s what people were voting for

Being Métis was not part of Mr. Bowman’s branding.

“It wasn’t something I broadcast from the rooftops,” he said in an interview with Postmedia. “I’ve always been proud of my family’s heritage. It’s something that I’ve never shied away from expressing.”

John Woods for Postmedia NewsMayor Brian Bowman outside city hall in Winnipeg Thursday.

It’s a quiet pride, something picked up from his parents, who raised three children in a loving, working-class environment in a small house but with a lot large enough to raise chickens and rabbits in the backyard. His father didn’t publicize his Métis heritage to neighbours and Bowman said the extent of his cultural upbringing consisted of dancing the Red River jig “badly” when visiting his grandparents. The only racial harassment he experienced was the occasional tussle with kids at school who teased Bowman for eating bannock at lunch.

“First and foremost I’m a Winnipegger, and I think that’s what people were voting for,” said Bowman. “They were voting on issues; they were voting for change.”

What many of them didn’t realize was the kind of change he offered as the first aboriginal mayor.

“Just before I was sworn in, I was writing my speech and added in a recognition that we’re in the heart of the Métis nation. I was told that those words had never been uttered by a mayor in the chamber, so when I did the swearing and uttered those words, the weight of history was definitely not lost on me,” said Mr. Bowman, who got teary-eyed during the speech.

Mr. Bowman also made sure to have an Ojibwa elder bless the swearing-in ceremony, and handed out gifts of tobacco to members of council as a traditional aboriginal gesture of goodwill.

“I just think of where this province has come from. This is the birthplace of Louis Riel. We have a growing indigenous community in Winnipeg; it’s something I’m very proud of and more and more Winnipeggers are seeing that as a source of strength.”

But Mr. Bowman’s election comes at a time when the city desperately needs to bridge an ominous gap. According to a public-opinion poll released by Probe Research in October, Winnipeggers believe theirs is a racially divided city.

InstragramWinnipeg police have identified Rinelle Harper as the victim of a serious attack by the Assiniboine River.

The community has been rocked by the murder of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine in August and the brutal sexual assault against 16-year-old Rinelle Harper who — after being attacked and dumped in the Assiniboine River Nov. 8. — managed to crawl out only to be beaten again and left for dead.

Mr. Bowman has contacted the families of the victims, condemned the attacks and called on the city to pull together. As a mayor determined to boost the city’s image, he has tried to downplay the racial divide. He says he takes the poll results with “a grain of salt” and points out racism exists in all communities.

But few Canadian cities have seen the chronic examples of racism splashed across the front pages of Winnipeg’s newspapers.

Shortly after mayoralty candidate Gord Steeves announced in August he would rid the downtown of public drunkenness, a diatribe written in 2010 surfaced from his wife Lorrie’s Facebook page complaining about being “really tired of getting harassed by the drunken native guys” downtown.

In October, award-winning Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq made news when she Tweeted that a man followed her down a Winnipeg street at lunch hour, calling her a “sexy little Indian and asking to f–k.”

THE CANADIAN PRESS/John WoodsWinnipeg's Canadian Museum for Human Rights saw 9,000 visitors arrive for its opening.

And although the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights looms over the downtown core, one exhibit devoted to abuses against Canada’s indigenous peoples points out, “First Nations, Inuit and Métis women are three times more likely to experience violence than other Canadian women. They are overrepresented as homicide victims. Many of their murders remain unsolved.”

Walking a tightrope over this gaping racial divide is Mr. Bowman, who seeks to use his heritage as a tool for positive change without pigeonholing himself as the “Métis mayor.”

He has invited First Nations chiefs to the mayor’s office, the first time that has happened in 25 years. He’s thinking of applying for his Métis status card. He’s also keen on the idea of urban reserves — or as Mr. Bowman prefers to call them, Urban Aboriginal Economic Zones — where parcels of land are set aside inside the city to promote business projects by indigenous people. In this way, reserve lands, that have so often been a source of segregation, become a means of integration.

“We have economic zones already, we have the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, we have lots of different ‘biz zones,’ and I see it much the same way,” he said. “Of course, it’s focused on aboriginal economic opportunities but Winnipeggers want people to succeed whether they are aboriginal or not, and if we can do something to help build the economy and strengthen it for all Winnipeggers, that’s a good thing.”

But what Bowman really wants to focus on is selling Winnipeg to the rest of the country as “the place to be.”

“By most statistics we have low unemployment rates here in Manitoba, we’ve got a really diverse economy, we’ve got a lot of really good things happening and so what I’ll be doing as mayor is doing my best to showcase that to Canada and to the world — so that the lens by which other Canadians look at Winnipeg is more accurate to what Winnipeg is really all about.”

John Woods for Postmedia NewsBrian Bowman, mayor of Winnipeg, takes time for a selfie with Alberto Valenzuela and his friends from Mexico outside city hall in Winnipeg Thursday.

Unfortunately, what Canada has seen of Winnipeg recently has been distorted by events such as the year-long inquest into the case of Brian Sinclair, a native man who sat unattended in a wheelchair for 34 hours in a hospital emergency ward before dying; and the discovery of Fontaine’s body in a garbage bag in the Red River.

Mr. Bowman says he’ll work with native organizations, community groups, the police, provincial politicians and the federal government to help find solutions, but at this point he doesn’t have any quick answers.

His biggest asset, perhaps, has nothing to do with his ancestry but what he brought to the campaign trail, which took what started as just three-per-cent support to almost 50 per cent of the vote. It’s what he calls his “positivity.”

Mr. Bowman is hoping that by re-energizing the city, by getting more people to move downtown, by improving the city’s public transit system, by funnelling more of the municipal budget into infrastructure, and by ending almost a decade of bickering at city council, he can build a renewed sense of optimism and pride in the city — and that is a tide that will lift all boats.

There is a wave from the west, moving east in Canada at the municipal level, where people are looking for what I called in our campaign a new generation of leadership

“Positivity” might sound like a corny word, but Mr. Bowman sees himself as part of a movement.

“There is a wave from the west, moving east in Canada at the municipal level, where people are looking for what I called in our campaign a new generation of leadership. It’s not age-based but it is a more open, transparent style of leadership — more pragmatic, a little more technology-savvy in the use of social media, and a lot more positive.”

Mr. Bowman won against a well-known mainstream candidate, Judy Wasylycia-Leis. But the other election surprise was another political rookie who finished a respectable third — Robert Falcon-Ouellette, a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

Whether he intended it or not, Mr. Bowman’s victory is heralding a new wave of leadership by smart, young, ambitious aboriginal people that has implications not only for Winnipeg but for other Canadian cities with growing indigenous populations.

If Mr. Bowman succeeds in fulfilling his promise — as a politician and a Métis — others will follow.

And perhaps then, we will be blessed by more of the politicians we deserve.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/21/why-brian-bowman-winnipegs-first-metis-mayor-is-the-most-important-chief-magistrate-in-canada/feed/3stdBrian BowmanJohn Woods for Postmedia NewsInstragramTHE CANADIAN PRESS/John WoodsJohn Woods for Postmedia NewsManitoba Premier promises to raise the highway speed limit … but is just as likely to get kicked out by his partyhttp://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/20/manitoba-premier-promises-to-raise-the-highway-speed-limit-but-is-just-as-likely-to-get-kicked-out-by-his-party/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/11/20/manitoba-premier-promises-to-raise-the-highway-speed-limit-but-is-just-as-likely-to-get-kicked-out-by-his-party/#commentsThu, 20 Nov 2014 23:40:18 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=546014

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger is promising new help for post-secondary students, a faster highway speed limit, and new restrictions on tanning beds in his NDP government’s throne speech.

But amid a caucus revolt, it is unclear whether Selinger will be around to see the promises through to fruition.

The 21-page throne speech offers small, measured promises that Selinger said are supported by his 35 fellow NDP legislature members.

“You’d have to ask caucus that,” Selinger said Thursday when asked whether he had the support of his caucus.

“What do you think?” a reporter asked.

“Yes,” the premier quickly replied.

The throne speech promises include an end to interest on post-secondary student loans, a ban on the use of tanning beds by minors, and a new, higher bridge at Morris to prevent flooding on the main highway linking Winnipeg with the United States.

The government will also raise the speed limit to 110 km/h from 100 km/h on the Trans-Canada Highway all the way from the Saskatchewan boundary to Winnipeg, Selinger said. Currently, the higher limit only covers a small section near the interprovincial boundary.

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There will be a new law to fight zebra mussels in Lake Winnipeg, a new law to cover post-traumatic stress disorder for emergency responders and a new agency to promote energy efficiency that will be separate from Manitoba Hydro, the Crown-owned utility.

The premier said the promises are affordable and will not derail the government’s promise to wipe out the deficit by the 2016-17 fiscal year. There are some cost-cutting measures in the throne speech, such as a plan to reduce the amount of leased office space by 9,290 square metres.

The throne speech kicks off a short two-week fall sitting in which Selinger leads a divided caucus. Five of his most senior cabinet ministers resigned recently, but remain in the NDP caucus and have said they will not vote with the opposition to bring down the government.

The five rebels, along with one backbencher and two senior NDP executive members, have all called on Selinger to resign in the wake of low polling numbers and continued public anger over last year’s increase to the provincial sales tax.

Selinger has vowed to carry on, and the NDP executive is working to organize a leadership contest at the party’s annual convention March 6. So far, none of the rebels has declared a leadership bid.

Selinger has been keen to stress the government is continuing to function as usual despite the internal turmoil. He said the throne speech paves a way forward for the province.

“Mantobans have told us they want to see investments in infrastructure and more opportunities for young people while providing front-line services to families. This throne speech embraces that vision.”